Jake's Undead Nightmare

by Ben McElyea

  “We’ve already pissed some of the fishermen off.”

  “They might hold a grudge, but I think the bath was worth it. Don’t try to make friends with everyone.”

  “Why not?”

  “Not everyone living within the walls is as friendly as I am.”

  “The six men and women who we met before we were allowed to stay here seemed to be alright.”

  “Josh, Tony, Tracy, Tom, Sandy, and Tyler are the best fighters we have here. They used to be cops. Don’t trust Tyler.”

  “Why shouldn’t I trust Tyler?”

  “He’s heartless.”

  “How so?”

  “He shot a kid.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he didn’t want to take care of him. That kid was innocent. We could have taken the kid with us. We all argued that it would be okay, but Tyler said no. After just a few minutes of talking about it, he got mad and shot the kid.”

  “Sounds like he’s unstable.”

  “He is. I’m surprised he didn’t shoot you and everyone in your group.”

  “Does Michael know about this?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe he should know about it.”

  “Don’t tell anyone about what I just told you.”

  “Why?”

  “Tyler said he’d kill anyone who talked about it.”

  “So we have a mental case with a gun in our settlement.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why hasn’t anybody tried to get rid of him?”

  “We’ve thought about it. We figured it’d be best to keep him. He’s good in a fight.”

  “What good is that if he goes crazy on one of us?”

  “I don’t think he’d kill any of us.”

  “Hope you’re right about that.”

  “Go meet with the other cops. You’ll be glad you did. They’re really good people.”

  “A jail inmate says something good about a police officer. That doesn’t happen often.”

  “Not all cops are corrupt. A lot of them are, though.”

  Jake, Jasmine, Dustin, Dan, Courtney, and Jamal found the cops sitting around a fire next to their cabin.

  “Hello,” Dan said to the cops.

  “How’s it going?” a cop asked. “I’m Tyler.”

  “I’m Dan. This is Jake, Courtney, Jamal, Jasmine, and Dustin.”

  “This is Josh, Tony, Tracy, Tom, and Sandy. We were all cops before this plague.”

  “Good to know some people who wear the blue are with us.”

  “Yeah. Watch out for Trey. He’s crazy.”

  “He seemed alright to me.”

  “Before this happened, he was a jail inmate.”

  “He told me he was a drug dealer.”

  “That’s what he told you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No way. He wasn’t a drug dealer. He was locked up for putting his mother in the hospital. He’s a lunatic.”

  “Thanks for telling us,” said Jake. “He had us fooled.”

  “He shot a kid because he didn’t want a kid to come with us.”

  “He told us you were the one who shot a kid.”

  “No,” said Josh. “Trey is the crazy one.”

  “Yeah,” Tracy agreed.

  “Why did you all take Trey with you?” Jamal asked.

  “He’s an extra pair of hands. He knows we’ll kill him if he doesn’t do what we say.”

  “He seemed very friendly.”

  “He’s mentally insane. He will love you for one moment and want to kill you the next. He’s somehow very good at finding supplies.”

  “If he wasn’t useful, I’d kill him myself. No one who kills a kid in cold blood deserves to live.”

  “Get in line. You and your people seem to be like good people. Stay close to us.”

  “We will.”

  “You can trust us, but we’re not sure about anybody else.”

  “What’s the story with Michael?”

  “He’s the most intelligent person we have. He’s a doctor.”

  “I’m surprised a doctor is still alive around here.”

  “He was on vacation when it started. He, two of his relatives, and eight neighbors built this place before things got too bad.”

  “We’re going to call it a day.”

  “If you’re needed, we’ll let you know.”

  Jake, Jamal, Jasmine, Dan, Dustin, and Courtney didn’t say much to anyone except for Michael, the cops, and Trey. They felt they didn’t need to be allied with everyone. They figured too many allies means too many people to help. The clan of thirteen remained close. The others glared and stayed away. Michael was pleased none of his people were bothered.

  47

  The next day, Jake decided to explore the area around the lake with Dan, Jamal, and Trey. There were a few houses two miles into the woods. The place looked deserted. The front lawns were ridden with broken bottles, decomposed paper, and somewhat tall towers made of wood.

  “People used to be holed up here,” said Jamal.

  They stood there and stared at the broken windows and open doors.

  “I doubt there’s anything here,” Jamal said with a sigh.

  “We’re going to search the places anyway,” said Jake.

  “I have a feeling something bad is going to happen. Let’s make this quick.”

  With Trey being the only one with a gun, he led the other three inside the first house. Two rotting corpses limped around the corner of one of the bedrooms and towards Trey. Not thinking, Trey used his pistol to put them down instead of his machete.

  “We need to get out of here,” Dan chirped. “That was too much noise.”

  “Sorry,” said Trey. “I’ve never been that close to one of them before. I’ll get us back home.”

  Trey led the others out of the house and back towards the walled sanctuary. From afar, Jake could see a crowd of zombies heading from the other side of the lake towards their previous location.

  “It’s good we got out of there,” said Trey as he picked up the pace.

  “Yeah,” said an annoyed Jamal. “Where will we get supplies next?”

  “There are several houses a few miles from here. We can search there if you want.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. I don’t want to go back emptyhanded. I feel like that’s not an option. Lead the way, Trey.”

  Trey led them for a few miles before everyone spotted a group behind them. They were walking towards them.

  “Turn around,” Trey said as he turned around and began walking the other way.

  “Trey’s right,” said Jamal. “We need to pick up the pace. Let’s go back.”

  “I hope they don’t reach us.”

  “We need to travel at a slow jog at the very least. We’re at least two miles from home. If they catch us, we’ll probably die.”

  “They’re going to catch up.”

  “You’re the only one with a gun.”

  “Yeah. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “I guess it’s a bad time to say I’m tired,” said Dan.

  “Don’t you dare slow us down,” said Trey. “If you slow us down, I’ll push forward and leave all of you behind.”

  “You would do that?” Jake asked.

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t leave Dan or Jamal behind.”

  “I’ll hold your heads underwater somewhere for a long time and laugh as you struggle.”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with me. The three of you are weak. You’re not needed at the lake. No one likes any of you.”

  “You have no one to trust now, Trey. No one to help you.”

  “I don’t need anyone.”

  “Maybe not now, but you will.”

  “No, I won’t. I could shoot the three of you right now and no one else would do anything about it. No one would care. People might be suspicious, but nothing would be done about it.”

  “Are you going to shoot us
?”

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  “He’s not going to shoot us,” said Jamal. “He may be crazy, but he’s not going to kill us. He’s scared to be alone. That’s why he stays at the settlement.”

  “I’m not scared to be alone.”

  “Shoot us, then.”

  “I’ve decided not to.”

  “Yeah. You’re a coward who shot a kid and put your mother in the hospital.”

  “So what? Yeah, I’m kind of a psycho. It doesn’t matter. There are no consequences.”

  “The consequence for shooting that kid is going to be death.”

  “I don’t fear death.”

  “Talking to you is like talking to a hormonal teenage girl. You’re nothing. You’re worthless. As soon as I can, I’m going to kill you.”

  “No. Tracy is the one who will kill me.”

  “If you know Tracy is going to kill you, why not save yourself some unnecessary crap and just kill yourself?”

  “I’ve thought about it.”

  “Do it.”

  “I don’t know if I should.”

  “You definitely should.”

  “I know I should kill myself, but I’m too afraid to do it.”

  “Hand me the gun. I’ll put an end to your suffering.”

  “Will a gunshot to the head be painless?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Here.”

  Trey handed Jamal the handgun. Without hesitation, Jamal quickly aimed the pistol at Trey’s head and pulled the trigger. No one stopped to look at Trey’s body. Jamal grabbed Trey’s supplies and pistol and kept moving with Jake and Dan. They occasionally looked back to see how close the large group was to them. They were gaining on them.

  “We need to go faster,” said Jamal. “Let’s run the rest of the way. We’re not too far from the lake. We can make it.”

  Jake, Jamal, and Dan ran as fast as they could. Dan vomited but kept up with Jamal and his brother.

  “Intruder!” Jamal yelled as they approached the walls. “There are people coming this way! Get ready!”

  Jake could see rifle barrels poking out of the wall’s slits. The defenders were ready. The six fearless cops ran outside with scoped assault rifles. Jake, Dan, and Jamal ran inside. The large group of people arrived with their hands raised.

  “State your business,” Tom said aloud.

  A man stepped forward.

  “My name isn’t important to you,” the man began, “So I’ll skip the formalities and false sense of caring. We want a place to stay here.”

  “You’re not going to live here,” said Tom. “Leave and don’t come back.”

  “We have nowhere else to go.”

  “Elsewhere is a place to go.”

  “We have little water and are out of food. Please help us.”

  “None of us are going to help you. You and your people are a threat to us. Unless you want to go to war with us, I suggest you get water from the lake and leave. I’m being as reasonable as I can be. If any of you do anything stupid, we’ll shoot all of you before any of you get a chance to fire a shot.”

  “You know you can’t win a war against us without suffering at least a few casualties. There are more of us who are not with us coming this way. You don’t want to fight us.”

  “Go away.”

  “There are over one hundred fifty of us scattered around this area. It’d be best if you and your people worked with us.”

  “We’re not going to trust you. I think you’d kill us if you had the chance.”

  “If we wanted to kill any of you, we’d simply leave and wait for the bulk of our forces.”

  “Just leave!”

  “We’re not going to leave the area. We’re going to share this lake.”

  “No, we aren’t!”

  “As long as none of you try to hurt any of us, everyone will be able to coexist with one another.”

  “Stay away from here.”

  Michael came outside with his hands out in front of him.

  “Hello,” Michael said to the man.

  “Are you the leader of this place?” the man asked.

  “I am.”

  “I’m Marcus.”

  “Michael. What brings you and your people here?”

  “As you can see, most of us have guns. We don’t want to kill anyone, but your people seem to want to kill us.”

  “Everyone!” Michael yelled. “Lower your weapons.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll ask again. What brings you and your people here?”

  “There are many of us. We’ve traveled very far to find a source of water and food. This place will fulfill our needs.”

  “You want to settle here.”

  “That’s correct. We’re going to settle at the far side of the lake. We won’t bother if you all won’t.”

  “We could establish trade.”

  “Open up a trading post?”

  “Yes, but there will be rules.”

  “Of course.”

  “After the trading post is built, no more than three people from each settlement will be allowed at the location at the same time. If this rule is broken, we will no longer be allies.”

  “Understood. I’m glad you’re reasonable.”

  “We don’t have any other choice. Everyone, these people are going to be our neighbors.”

  48

  Time passed. It was June. Times were hard. Tension was high. There were no incidents between Michael and Marcus’s people, but everyone felt the alliance was a feeble one at best. With the two large forces combined, all zombies were prevented from entering the water. The settlement’s people took turns watching the perimeter. There were five walled buildings around the lake. There were two buildings for each settlement and one trading post. Fifteen people were working or building a fence around the lake and their sanctuaries at all times. Michael’s people had watermelons, sunflowers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, green beans, corn, and carrots. They kept a surplus to be prepared for a worst case scenario.

  The two settlements traded often. Food was never traded. Knives, lighters, batteries, flashlights, clothing, makeshift items such as nets and hammocks, hygiene items, weapons, and tools were traded often.

  Jake, Dan, Jamal, Courtney, Dustin, Jasmine, Tony, Tom, Tracy, Sandy, Tyler, and Josh stayed together most of the time. No one cared about Trey’s death. They trusted no one but Michael and themselves. The police officers shared their weapons to provide everyone with a sufficient means of protection. Every member of the group had at least a pistol and a baton, lead pipe, or thick stick.

  At least seventy of the two hundred sixteen people were always fishing at the lake. None from Michael’s settlements entered Marcus’s strongholds and vice versa. Jake, Jamal, Dan, Tom, Tracy, Jasmine, and Sandy traveled to a faraway grocery store. Nothing was found in the store. They were surrounded by a group of four men and women in hazmat suits armed with assault rifles.

  “We mean you no harm,” said one of the men. “We want to take three of you to our facility, preferably women. It is safe there. We have food, water, weapons, and shelter.”

  “How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Jake asked as he, Dan, Jamal, Tom, Tracy, Jasmine, and Sandy steadily held the four at gunpoint.

  “We’re all wearing hazmat suits. That should convince you we’re working for the government.”

  “What do you know?”

  “Not a lot. We’re not high enough on the ladder to know much of anything. We do know things with the infection are getting better. Our mission is to bring back a few women every other week.”

  “Why do you only want three women?”

  “Right now, we only have enough space for three women.”

  “The four of you could be psychopaths wearing hazmat suits.”

  “We work for the government.”

  “If you work for the government, you definitely know more than what you’re telling us. Tell me everything you know.”

  “It isn’t
safe here. Talking about it right now is not the best idea.”

  “None of you are going anywhere until you spill the beans.”

  “There is no cure for the infection. The only way for the dead to not come back as one of them is if an object does enough damage to the brain. It’s only a matter of time before the zombies rot to incapacitation. Eventually, the only zombies that will exist will be people who die. As long as everyone found is monitored, the infection will no longer spread. It was either a biological weapon, an experiment gone wrong, or something in the air or water.”

  “We’re not coming with you.”

  “Please reconsider letting the three women come with us. We’re trying to help.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “If you don’t believe us, we’ll be on our way.”

  “I don’t think we should let any of you walk away.”

  “There is no need for violence.”

  “Fire!”

  “Wait!” Tracy cried.

  But it was too late. Jake, Dan, Tom, and Jamal had already opened fire. Before the four were put down, one of them shot and killed Jasmine.

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Jamal.

  “Let’s go,” said Jake. “We’re too far out to deal with a bunch of zombies.”

  “I’m going to search this pharmacy,” said Tom.

  “It’s not worth it,” said Dan. “By the time we’re done searching the pharmacy, we’ll be surrounded by the undead.”

  “I’m searching the pharmacy. Medicine is in short supply.”

  “If you don’t come with us, you’ll be killed. Jamal, Jake, and I are definitely leaving now. If Tracy and Sandy want to go with you, fine.”

  “I know you two will come with me.”

  “I’ll come with you,” said Tracy.

  “I won’t,” said Sandy. “You both should know searching the pharmacy is a bad idea.”

  “It’s you and me,” Tom said to Tracy. “Let’s hurry. There has got to be something valuable in there.”

  “Something valuable?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah,” Tracy answered. “At some point, everything will be back to normal. When all of this blows over, stuff like jewelry and money will be valuable again.”

  “I’m going with you two.”

  “That’s stupid,” said Dan. “Don’t go with them, Jake. No valuables of any kind are worth risking your life.”

  “You’re right. I’m not willing to take the risk.”

  49